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Saturday, December 17, 2011

Gingerbread House Party

December is crazy, I'm so sorry for not posting for a week! But I have a great one for today, we had a great Gingerbread House Party! Here are the details!

I invited Serenity's class over to decorate gingerbread houses. I realized as I was making the bases that I’d never decorated a gingerbread house before! And just like my mother, the very first time I made ten of them. Yay for mass production! Here’s how I set it up:

I built the bases for the gingerbread houses by cheating, as my friend Andrew would say. Hooray for hot glue! I figure no one really wants to eat graham crackers that sit out for days anyway =) I bought cardboard cake rectangles and cut them in half to make 7 by 10 inch boards. Then I hot glued graham crackers to make the base. I read a tip from here at One Charming Party about microwaving the graham cracker wrapped in a wet paper towel for 15 seconds, and it definitely made it easier to cut it without breaking the cracker. I got too lazy for it after a while, so it can be done both ways. I cut the pattern for my roofline on a piece of cardstock so that I got the angles the same on the front and back. I cut about a fifth of the graham cracker off the side pieces so that the roof had a nice overhang.

The special details that everyone loved included getting sugar cones and green icing for Christmas trees. Serenity especially loved this and covered her tree with mini M&M and Skittles ornaments. And she used mini gummy fruit slices for presents under the tree. Next, I got supplies to make snowmen out of marshmallows. Big marshmallows, toothpicks, and edible markers. Finally, I found little gingerbread cookie people! Pepperidge farm makes a set of these, and the kids loved adding them to their little houses.

In addition to all that, I bought a ton of candy! I think next year I’ll buy different candy knowing what I know now. With the graham crackers especially, the houses are pretty small. So the big gumdrop bells, Butterfinger bells, ribbon candy, nougats, and even the hershey’s kisses were a bit too big. We used a couple maybe each, but they weren’t the most fun.

The best candies were the mini M&Ms, and someone brought little tiny candy balls in all different colors. They looked just like lights! Next year I’ll totally buy the M&Ms not in a Christmas mix, they’re cuter with more colors. The mini fruit slices were awesome, and tiny gumdrops. The mini candy canes were cool too, but since they came in a box of 60 I imagine I’ll still have some for next year. Oh, and I nearly forgot the Christmas Crunch. The cereal made cute decorations, and was lightweight and just the right size =) I also got Cinnamon Toast Crunch, which I forgot to use but I still think would be cute.

I had the icing ready in Ziploc baggies for piping, and that worked great just like at our Cookie Party. And green icing in a bowl with popsicle sticks to spread it.

And that was it! I had some cardboard boxes for people to take home their creations. Next year I might buy cellophane so they can wrap it and tie it closed with curly ribbon. I could only make so many trips to Target for things I’d forgotten this year =) Next year I’ll have a list to work from!

Have been planning my niece’s birthday at one of Venues in San Francisco. Have taken some wonderful ideas from internet for the day. Going to use different color of balloons as décor on the floor. Want to make the day best and memorable for her.

About Me

Thanks for joining me here at Clever Faeries! I'm Chrissie, mama to two wonderful children. When we're not playing or crafting together, I'm hunting the web for my next project inspiration! I love sharing party ideas, crafts, books, and all the other things I love with you! I hope you come back and maybe even start following the fun!